New Orleans, LA – On March 3 dozens of protesters gathered in front of the downtown New Orleans Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office to express solidarity with 300 ICE detainees at Lasalle Detention Center. The immigrants began a hunger strike on Monday, February 27, and the Detention Watch Network broke the news Thursday evening. Protesters united behind the strikers’ demands for their immediate release, transparency from ICE about their court cases, and access to basic hygiene necessities.

The emergency action saw progressive people from multiple organizations mobilize on less than a day’s notice in support of the strikers. Activists displayed a banner reading “Legalization 4 all” to passing cars and held signs reading “El pueblo unido jamás sera vencido.”

Speakers from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Unión Migrante, New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police (NOCOP), and New Orleans Immigrant Rights Action (NOIRA) led chants of “Everyone in a cell has a right to rebel!” and “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE!”

NOIRA organizer Sebastian Miscenich expressed the need for legalization for all, saying, “from the service industry to construction, immigrants help run New Orleans. Second-class citizenship for undocumented people has to end.”

Activists circulated a NOIRA petition demanding municipal identification cards for all residents of New Orleans, regardless of immigration status. The petition also demands that New Orleans establish an immigrants’ fund for legal defense in immigration proceedings and disaster relief. The cards would provide access to this fund for undocumented New Orleanians.

Alfredo Salazar of Unión Migrante, an immigrant workers’ group, said, “It’s shameful that these laws criminalize people who are just coming here to work and build better lives for their families.”

Serena Borne of the FRSO said, “All the politicians will say that immigrant detention is for the rule of ‘law and order.’ But law and order for who? For the imperialists! For the businesses who exploit immigrant labor one day and dispose of it the next!”

Several interpreters made the event bilingual and accessible to both English- and Spanish-only speakers.

#NewOrleansLA #AbolishICE

Los Angeles, CA – On October 12, hundreds of people gathered downtown to demand Trump’s concentration camps be closed. Many organizations and labor unions came together including NDLON Day Labor Organizing Centers and MEChA de CSULA with a clear message, “Close the camps.” October 12 was a national day of action in which multiple cities participated.

Speakers included a representative from the teachers union – UTLA. Another speaker, Sol Marquez of Centro CSO, said, “We need to call them what they are – concentration camps. The U.S. has a long history of using concentration camps, they did it to Japanese-Americans and they’re doing it now. We need to close these camps everywhere, not just in L.A. or near the border. And we have to stand in solidarity with Central American refugees. The U.S. destabilizes their governments and economies, forcing them to take dangerous journeys, only to be locked up once they get here. Close the camps.”

The crowd marched in the streets to the Hall of Justice, office of LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. They chanted, “El pueblo, unido, jamas será vencido!” The crowd then marched onto the steps of the building and heard from a few more speakers demanding that Sheriff Villanueva stop any cooperation with ICE at the jails. Black Lives Matter speaker Greg Akili also denounced District Attorney Jackie Lacey for not prosecuting killer cops. After the speakers, people performed a mock die-in symbolizing the dozens of immigrants and refugees who have died in the camps, including six children. As they read each of the names of the people who died, a person in the crowd would fall to the ground, symbolizing their deaths.

The crowd marched on to the Federal Metropolitan Detention Center, where many immigrants are held. They continued chanting, “Close the camps!” And “Policia, la Migra! La misma porqueria!” Hundreds gathered in front of the building. Marquez declared, “Trump in the White House hasn’t made the situation for immigrants, refugees, nor oppressed nationalities any easier. He’s inciting vigilantes to come after Chicanos at Walmarts, or Border Patrol agents to shoot into crowds of people. We must remain strong and keep building the fight to protect each other. We outnumber the rich, and they can’t stop us all.”

Centro CSO is an endorser of the “Legalization for All” call and marched with a banner that read, “Legalización para todos, lucha contra Trump” or “Legalization for all, fight against Trump.”

Centro CSO meets every third Wednesday of the month, 6 p.m., at Benjamin Franklin Library in Boyle Heights. Their contact information is 323-943-2030, centrocso@gmail.com, facebook.com/CentroCSO

#LosAngeles #ImmigrantRights #ChicanoLatino #legalizationForAll #AbolishICE #CloseTheCamps #BorderPatrol

Aurora, CO – Immigrant rights groups from the greater Denver area came together on September 19 to confront Johnny Choate, the warden of Aurora’s notorious ICE detention facility, at his Aurora home.

Over the past several years, the Aurora detention facility, operated by private prison giant GEO and which many liken to a concentration camp, has become notorious for human rights abuses. There have been at least two recorded deaths as well as cases of denial of proper medication and poor medical treatment. Other practices include cover-ups and torture via solitary confinement of trans, gay and mentally ill detainees.

This jail was also one of four detention facilities nationwide that was recently reprimanded by Trump's own Department of Homeland Security for human rights abuses. Choate, as warden of the GEO ICE Detention Center, is responsible for medical neglect, forced labor and overcrowding, which contribute to making big profits for his employer, the notorious GEO Group.

At least 200 protesters, including members from Abolish ICE Denver, Denver Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Colorado People’s Alliance, gathered at the Tollgate Crossing Community Center in Aurora. From there, they marched to Choate’s residence, holding signs reading “Abolish ICE” and “Johnny Choate, there’s blood on your hands!” Protesters also chanted “Never again is right now!” and “No one is illegal, power to the people!” Once at Choate’s residence, protesters continued marching and chanting, despite intimidation from police. Protesters also canvassed the neighborhood to inform the locals of the human rights abuser living in their own neighborhood.

Although there was a small group of right-wing counter-protesters present at Choate’s home to defend these unjust and illegal practices. The marchers chanted “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA!” against them. The counter-protesters were ultimately silenced.

“Our community came together today to show that we will not be silent in the face of injustice,” said Kyle Burroughs of SDS. “We want to let Choate and others like him know that they can’t go home and have a nice dinner with their families while there’s families being torn apart under their watch.''

The protesters marched back to the community center and ended the action around 9 p.m.

#AuroraCO #OppressedNationalities #SDS #US #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #Antiracism #Antifascism #DonaldTrump #AbolishICE #JohnnyChoate

Milwaukee, WI – On August 1, Wisconsin Jews Against ICE, #neveragainisnow, held a protest outside the Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) office. Starting at 8 a.m., about 200 Jews and allies from across Wisconsin rallied in front of the building. By 10 a.m., the agency had closed its doors, turning away people who had appointments scheduled with either ICE or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.

Activists stationed someone at the door to explain what was going on to the mostly foreign-born clientele turning up there. Many were sympathetic; others expressed frustration. Two left and returned an hour later with coolers filled with drinks and ice. They thanked those gathered for the action and encouraged them to keep it up.

The 22 activists who committed to civil disobedience carried white roses, a symbol of anti-fascist struggle, in honor of Rose Daitsman, an organizer who devoted her whole life to fighting injustice. She was a native Yiddish speaker, a lifelong communist, and a founding member of Milwaukee’s Human Rights Commission. They laid them in front of the driveways of the ICE building in downtown Milwaukee before sitting in front of them for the entire day, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For one day, no one was transported to detention through those doors of no return.

The action drew a diverse cohort of activists from across Wisconsin, but the presence of the torah and four rabbis, the sound of the shofar, and some tefillin and shawl-clad marchers powerfully marked the action as a specifically Jewish one. Imperfect and shimmering, it felt like the beginning of something.

#MilwaukeeWI #OppressedNationalities #US #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #DonaldTrump #AbolishICE #concentrationCamps #NeverAgainIsNow

Aurora, CO – Hundreds of protestors marched from the Peoria transit station to the corporate-run GEO Group ICE Processing Center on July 12. The march was led by the Coalition to Close Concentration Camps. The coalition is composed of many local immigrant rights groups and community activists demanding President Trump close the camps.

Marchers chanted, “Close the camps! “Shut it down!” and “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!” They also proudly displayed signs reading “Abolish ICE,” “Don’t look away” and “Never again is now.” One leader spoke about U.S. government intervention in Central America, and how war and poverty led to the current humanitarian crisis at the ICE concentration camps.

Upon reaching the ICE detention camp, marchers joined with Lights for Liberty and the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) for a candlelight vigil and speeches by immigrant rights groups. 2000 people attended the vigil demanding the concentration camps be closed.

As speeches continued, a small group crossed over the bridge to the detention camp to continue chanting directly outside its doors. This led to hundreds more protestors joining the group rallying closer to the facility while others continued to listen to the speeches with Lights for Liberty and CIRC. Eventually, the group outside the facility took down the American flag flying overhead and replaced it with a Mexican flag.

Despite the difference in tactics, both groups had the same demands to close the concentration camps and grant asylum to all those currently imprisoned. The groups eventually came back together to rally once more.

“Everyone is outraged about what is happening in that facility,” said Mariah Wood, a local organizer for Unite Here Local 23. “Ultimately both actions were meant to demonstrate outrage at the concentration camps”.

The united rally continued until sundown around 9 p.m.

#AuroraCO #Labor #OppressedNationalities #US #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #DonaldTrump #AbolishICE #CoalitionToCloseConcentrationCamps #ColoradoImmigrantRightsCoalition

San Ysidro, CA – Protesters marched from Larsen Field in San Ysidro to the pedestrian border crossing Friday evening, July 12. The march was led by local Kumeyaay tribal elders, accompanied by the Brown Berets, and local immigrant rights and political organizations in demanding an immediate end to the Trump administration's refugee and immigrant concentration camps.

These camps have been the center of popular outrage, as many reports have surfaced of children being ripped away from their families, sexually assaulted and denied medical treatment. Some even died in custody or immediately following release. Several thousand people participated in the march, which stopped right in front of the crossing that leads right into Tijuana, Mexico. There, Kumeyaay tribal leaders held ceremonial dances and local activists gave poignant speeches enumerating the atrocities the Trump and past U.S. administrations have committed against indigenous peoples, immigrants and refugees.

The influx of asylum seekers – particularly from Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala – can be directly attributed to U.S. efforts to destabilize progressive governments and attack revolutionary movements across Latin America.

In the United States, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has been using insidious tactics in its war on oppressed nationalities. Once tactic has been scouring driver and motor vehicle databases in states that permit undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses, using facial recognition software to identify potential deportees.

Protesters that night chanted slogans like “Free the children! Free them now!” “Abolish ICE,” and “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!” They also proudly displayed signs reading “Close the camps, free the fams,” “Prosecute Trump,” “Kids don't belong in cages” and “No more dead children!”

After speakers addressed the crowd, protesters marched back to Larsen field and the action ended around 10:30 p.m.

#SanYsidroCA #OppressedNationalities #US #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #legalizationForAll #DonaldTrump #AbolishICE #concentrationCamps

Organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) on less than a day’s notice, the protest made sure that the largest military-style workplace immigration raid yet under the Trump administration did not go unchallenged.

The immigration raid was carried out by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, which is ICE’s investigative branch. ICE simultaneously raided multiple workplaces in Nebraska and in southern Minnesota. The two Minnesota towns targeted were Sleepy Eye and Appleton. The targets were immigrant workers for Christensen Farms, which has its headquarters in Sleepy Eye and has a plant in Appleton. Incidentally, Appleton is the town where a private prison corporation and right-wing politicians want to reopen a currently-inoperative prison as an immigrant prison.

Christensen Farms is one of the largest pork producers in the United States with operations in several Midwest states. On August 8, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper, “Dozens of agents in black SUVs pulled onto the company property, blocking entrances to keep people from leaving or entering,” and, “for several hours, agents interviewed every employee and checked some IDs.”

At the Minneapolis protest, speakers included Kathryn Sharpe of the Interfaith Coalition on Immigration (ICOM); David Gilbert-Pederson of Minnesota Workers United and the Minnesota Regional Labor Federation; Minneapolis City Council member Jeremiah Ellison; Pastor Rebecca Voelkel of the Center for Sustainable Justice; Jill Jacobson of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, and Kristin Dooley of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM). Speakers connected the struggle of immigrant workers, the labor movement, faith communities, the need for local government to enact policies to protect immigrants from the federal government’s anti-immigrant campaign, and U.S. militarism that drives forced migration.

In addition to condemning the ICE raid at Christensen Farms in Appleton and Sleepy Eye, MIRAC called for ICE to immediately release all the immigrant workers they detained, and to end all workplace immigration raids. They also called on Governor Dayton and all city and county governments in Minnesota to immediately end all coordination with ICE. Finally, they demanded an end to deportations, legalization for all, and abolishing ICE.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #InJusticeSystem #Labor #OppressedNationalities #ChicanoLatino #MinnesotaImmigrantRightsActionCoalitionMIRAc #legalizationForAll #Antiracism #AbolishICE

San Diego, CA – About 800 protesters rallied and marched, July 2, to demand the abolition and defunding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE is a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notorious for harassing and terrorizing immigrants, refugees and the Chicano community. Due to its proximity to the border with Mexico, San Diego has been a focal point for the immigrant rights movement, the struggle against ICE, and now the Trump administration’s vicious separation of families policy.

Protesters began the rally with speeches in the famous landmark, Chicano Park, then marched several miles through the city streets to the U.S. Federal District Court building in downtown San Diego. During a brief stop at the Westin Hotel in Horton Plaza, several protesters rappelled down from the roof of the building to drop an enormous banner that read, “Free our families now!” During the march, protesters chants rang out, “This is for the people who are locked inside! Together we can abolish ICE,” and, “Money for health and education! Not for wars and deportation,” and “We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us!” Upon arrival at the court building, about 20 protesters locked arms in act of civil disobedience, blocking the entrance. Ten were eventually arrested.

This day was chosen as a major day of resistance as the Trump administration plans to ramp up raids and separations.

#SanDiegoCA #AbolishICE